With “mo(_)rning becomes them,” Aru Ray Tormann explores queer grief in the context of non-binary transition through dance and text—vulnerably yet playfully. The performances, presented on July 3rd and 4th, 2026, as part of the 48 Hours Neukölln festival, represent an interim stage in a long-term artistic research project. In this exploration, Tormann posits that both grief and transition are processes that defy linear logic and instead challenge us to continually redefine and redefine the boundaries we experience within ourselves, as well as those imposed upon us by society.

Contrary to the narrow confines of binary notions of gender, “mo(_)rning becomes them” traces a dismantling of gendered categorization while celebrating a non-binary transition. “mo(_)rning becomes them” provides space for grief processes that can accompany a transition: for example, the deep-seated grief of not being able to imagine one's own future when the gender assigned at birth does not match one's own perception and representations of non-binary adulthood and aging are lacking.